What Aquaveo does

Aquaveo, LLC is a privately held water resources modeling software company headquartered in Provo, Utah, founded in 1985 and operating as a small specialty vendor (11-50 employees). The company develops a portfolio of desktop and web-based modeling tools for groundwater, surface-water, and watershed analysis, targeting civil engineers, hydrologists, environmental consultants, government agencies, and academic institutions. Its core products are the Groundwater Modeling System (GMS), Surface-water Modeling System (SMS), and Watershed Modeling System (WMS) — three desktop applications that wrap a broad set of industry-standard numerical solvers (MODFLOW, HEC-HMS, HEC-RAS, GSSHA, ADCIRC, CMS-Flow, TUFLOW, EPA-SWMM, EPANET, SRH-2D) in a unified pre/post-processing GUI built on a proprietary XMS platform. Complementary offerings include the Arc Hydro Groundwater extensions for ESRI ArcGIS (both Desktop and Pro), two web applications (AGWA for watershed stormwater analysis and CityWater for water distribution model visualization/referencing), and a free WMS Community Edition that seeds freemium adoption. Aquaveo maintains deep co-development relationships with USACE Engineer Research and Development Center, ESRI, and FHWA, which both validate the software against federal standards and create institutional lock-in.

The business model blends perpetual software licenses (Local and Flex variants priced roughly $4K-$13K+ per seat for WMS, with GMS/SMS priced on quote) with an annual maintenance subscription at 15% of license value providing updates and technical support. Recurring revenue also derives from academic licensing (50% discount with unlimited student seats), regulatory review licenses for government agencies, premium consulting support (~$180/hour, with prepaid bundles), training courses offering CEU credits and FHWA-NHI certification, and custom software development contracts. Distribution combines direct online and phone/email sales with a worldwide network of international resellers spanning North America, Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania. Customers include the US Bureau of Reclamation, USACE ERDC, City of Los Angeles, LA County Flood Control District, and various engineering consultancies, with thousands of universities using the software for teaching and research. The company is profitable on a cash basis, owner-operated, and has not taken institutional funding.

Name

Aquaveo

Legal name

Aquaveo, LLC

Website

https://aquaveo.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Aquaveo is a privately held Utah-based software company that builds groundwater, surface-water, and watershed modeling tools (GMS, SMS, WMS) plus ArcGIS extensions and web apps, sold to government agencies, engineering consultancies, and universities worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Water Resources Modeling Software

NAICS

Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Environmental Consulting Services (54162), Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (54136)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

Water Quality & Watershed/Hydrologic Modeling (SWMM/HEC-RAS, Flood/Runoff/Nutrient) (EUAHAKAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Data Management, LIMS & Compliance Software (ELN, eDMS, reporting automation) (EUANAJAE), Water, Wastewater & Hydraulics Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAD)

Keywords

• Water resources modeling
• Groundwater simulation software
• Watershed hydrology software
• Surface water modeling
• Hydraulic engineering tools

Headquarters

HQ city

Provo

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Software Licenses: Perpetual software licenses sold for desktop modeling applications (GMS, SMS, WMS, Arc Hydro Groundwater). Local and Flex license options available. First year of maintenance included at no additional charge.
2. Annual Maintenance: Annual maintenance at 15% of current license value provides access to updates, version releases, and technical support. Perpetual licenses remain functional but maintenance must be kept current for updates and support.
3. Academic Licensing: 50% discount off commercial pricing for educational institutions. Includes 2 permanent professor licenses plus unlimited student licenses (1-year terms) free with active maintenance.
4. Training Courses: First-class training courses in water resources modeling conducted throughout the year. Continuing Education Units (CEU) available. 25% discount on software purchases for course attendees.
5. Premium Support: Hourly consulting assistance from modeling experts. Prepaid blocks available at $180/hour with discounted bundles when purchased with new licenses (4 hours for $550, 8 hours for $950).
6. Custom Software Development: Contract services to customize modeling and GIS software to meet specific customer needs. Tailored solutions for companies and government agencies.
7. Regulatory Review License: Specialized government agency license for reviewing modeling and GIS work. Review-only use, not for creating projects or commercial purposes. Annually renewable.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Aquaveo develops and sells water resources modeling software for groundwater, surface-water, and watershed analysis. Its product suite includes the desktop applications GMS (Groundwater Modeling System), SMS (Surface-water Modeling System), and WMS (Watershed Modeling System), the web applications CityWater and AGWA, and the ArcGIS extensions AHGW and AHGW Pro. The company also provides related training, premium technical support, consulting, and custom software development services.

Product overview

Aquaveo is a water resources modeling software company offering a portfolio of desktop applications, web-based SaaS tools, and ArcGIS extensions for environmental modeling. The core desktop products include GMS (Groundwater Modeling System) for 3D groundwater flow and transport simulations, SMS (Surface-water Modeling System) for coastal and riverine environments, and WMS (Watershed Modeling System) for hydrologic and hydraulic modeling. These are available in multiple editions (Community, Floodplain, Municipal, Premium) with varying capabilities. The web applications AGWA and CityWater provide cloud-based watershed analysis and water distribution modeling. Arc Hydro Groundwater extends Esri's ArcGIS platform for groundwater data management. Aquaveo also provides professional services including training, consulting, premium support, and custom software development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• GMS (Groundwater Modeling System) Desktop software for building and simulating groundwater models, supporting MODFLOW and related engines, with pre- and post-processing tools for aquifer characterization and groundwater flow analysis. Used by hydrogeologists and water resource engineers.
• SMS (Surface-water Modeling System) Desktop software for surface-water modeling, supporting multiple hydraulic engines for rivers, coastal waters, estuaries, and floodplains. Used by hydraulic engineers for hydrodynamic and sediment transport simulations.
• WMS (Watershed Modeling System) Desktop software for watershed and stormwater modeling, supporting HEC-1, HEC-HMS, GSSHA, and other hydrologic models for rainfall-runoff analysis, flood prediction, and watershed characterization. Used by civil and water resources engineers.
• CityWater Web-based application for modeling municipal water distribution networks, allowing users to run and visualize hydraulic simulations online. Used by municipal utilities and water system engineers.
• AGWA (Automated GSSHA Watershed Analysis) Web-based application that automates setup and execution of GSSHA watershed simulations from GIS data. Used by hydrologists and watershed managers for land-use change impact assessments.
• Arc Hydro Groundwater for ArcGIS Desktop (AHGW) Extension to Esri ArcGIS Desktop that adds tools for regional groundwater flow and subsurface analysis. Used by GIS analysts and hydrogeologists in government and consulting organizations.
• Arc Hydro Groundwater Pro (AHGW Pro) Extension to Esri ArcGIS Pro that provides tools for regional groundwater flow and subsurface analysis within the modern ArcGIS Pro environment. Used by GIS analysts and hydrogeologists.
• Training Courses and Workshops Instructor-led courses on groundwater, surface-water, and watershed modeling using Aquaveo software. Offered online and on-site, with discounts for multiple registrations and for students.
• Premium Support
• Custom Software Development Services
• Consulting Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Floodplain delineation processing speed improved by factor of 10 compared to previous versions
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUSACE Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) is a key development partner. Aquaveo has collaborated on multiple projects including GSSHA model development and storm surge modeling studies. The company maintains active engagement with USACE on software development and validation studies.
• ESRIcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerESRI is listed as a development partner. Aquaveo develops ArcGIS extensions (Arc Hydro Groundwater) and integrates with ESRI technology platforms. This partnership enables GIS-based water modeling capabilities.
• Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFHWA is listed as a development partner. Aquaveo integrates with FHWA software including HY-8 culvert analysis and Hydraulic Toolbox. The company also offers FHWA-NHI certified training courses (Course 135095 - 2D Hydraulic Modeling, Course 135080 - Hydrologic Analysis).

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• HydroCAD Software Solutions: HydroCAD specializes in stormwater hydrology and detention pond modeling for site-scale civil engineering projects. It competes with the lower end of Aquaveo's WMS use cases, particularly for small-to-midsize consulting firms and developers running simpler stormwater analyses.
• CivilGEO: CivilGEO offers engineering modeling software including GeoHECHMS, GeoHECRAS, and stormwater tools targeted at civil engineering consultants — overlapping use cases with Aquaveo's WMS. It is a smaller, niche-focused player competing for the same mid-market engineering customer base.
• KISTERS: KISTERS provides water resources software including hydrological and hydraulic modeling, real-time flood forecasting, and water data management. It overlaps with Aquaveo's WMS/AGWA watershed modeling and competes more broadly in European and Australian markets.
• BOSS International: BOSS International develops hydrologic and hydraulic modeling software (e.g., HEC-Pack, RiverCAD) used by civil engineers for flood studies and stormwater design. It competes with Aquaveo's WMS in the consultancy/SMB segment and often undercuts on price for entry-level hydraulic workflows.

Direct peers

• DHI Group: DHI develops the MIKE Powered by DHI suite for surface water, groundwater, coastal, and water distribution modeling. It is the closest direct competitor to Aquaveo's GMS/SMS/WMS portfolio and increasingly competes via MIKE Cloud, a SaaS delivery model that contrasts with Aquaveo's desktop-centric stack.

Others

• Esri: Esri's ArcGIS platform is the geographic information backbone that Aquaveo's products (especially Arc Hydro Groundwater) build on. While not a direct modeler competitor, Esri is simultaneously a core development partner, a platform dependency, and an enabler of competing GIS-based water workflows.
• USACE Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC): USACE HEC develops and freely distributes HEC-HMS, HEC-RAS, and HEC-FDA, the underlying numerical engines that Aquaveo's WMS and SMS wrap with GUI and pre/post-processing. Aquaveo maintains parts of the USACE ecosystem (HY-8, FHWA Toolbox), making HEC a partner/dependency rather than a commercial competitor.

Broad incumbents

• Bentley Systems: Bentley's OpenFlows family (WaterGEMS, SewerGEMS, Hammer, CivilStorm) and iTwin platform target the same water/hydraulic modeling buyers as Aquaveo, but as part of a much broader infrastructure engineering portfolio. It is the largest commercial incumbent in hydraulic modeling and a key cloud-transition competitor.
• Trimble Water Solutions: Trimble offers water and wastewater modeling products (formerly DBO+Software and Trimble Unity) for utilities and municipalities, overlapping with Aquaveo's CityWater and WMS water distribution modeling. As a large infrastructure software incumbent, Trimble brings broader scale and an adjacent GIS/survey ecosystem.
• Autodesk (Innovyze products): Autodesk acquired Innovyze and now sells InfoWater, InfoSWMM, InfoDrainage, and InfoWorks ICM — direct competitors to Aquaveo's water distribution and stormwater modeling. As a major CAD/GIS-adjacent incumbent, Autodesk can bundle water modeling with broader design workflows.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/aquaveo
• YouTubeyoutube.com/aquaveo
• Facebookfacebook.com/aquaveo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/292025

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Aquaveo